Coin tray



Oct. 5, 1937. J. H. BOWMAN COIN TRAY Filed Oct. 17, 1954 INVENTOR. cfz/mafl flaw/110v BY; 2 Z

ATTORNE Patented Oct. 5, 1937 PATENT OFFICE COIN TRAY James H. Bowman, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii Application October 17, 1934, Serial No. 748,748

2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in coin trays and. it consists of certain constructions and arrangements of the same as will be hereinafter fully set forth and claimed.

At the present time there are two kinds of devices for facilitating the disbursement of change in general use. The first are coin trays, and the second are specially built automatic change-making machines. The first usually comprise a tray having a plurality of compartments or grooves designed to contain coins of different denominations. While using such a device a cashier or other person can easily find coins of desired denomination, but is greatly handicapped by the inconvenience of picking up the desired number of coins out from the row of coins since the coins lie face to face in the row. This is not only time-consuming but mistakes are liable to occur. The automatic changemaking machine, while eliminating the necessity of finding proper coins and handling them, still retains a disadvantage of necessitating the recounting of the coins which is usually done as a check and as a precaution.

It is the object of my invention to eliminate the inconvenience of handling the coins and the necessity of recounting the change by providing a coin tray in which coins are arranged in clearly visible rows, the coins in each row being arranged in such a way as to permit easy withdrawal and the simultaneous counting of the coins.

Another object of my invention is toprovide a coin tray in which coins of different denominations can be arranged in clearly visible rows and the coins in each row are staggered so that each coin will partially overlap its adjacent one.

Another object of my invention is to provide a coin tray having a plurality of parallel grooves, each groove being adapted to receive and to hold coins of a certain denomination, arranged in such a way as to permit simultaneous withdrawal of several coins at a time from a row by grasping the same with the thumb and forefinger.

Another object of my invention is to provide a coin tray in which a plurality of grooves of various sizes extending substantially through the width thereof is arranged, said grooves in cross section being substantially equal to a quadrant of the coin designed to be received in the groove.

Another object of my invention is to provide a coin tray which is simple in construction, neat in appearance, and'cheap to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and novel features of 1. ism-11) the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 7 7

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, in which 7 p Figure l is an isometric view of a coin tray constructed in accordance with the teachings of my invention;

,Figure 2 is a cross section along the line 2--2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a crosssection along the line 3- -3 of Figure 2, showing-a staggered row of coins.

A coin tray of my invention consists of a body portion l, which may be made of any suitable material such as wood, light metal, or compositions and substance such as bakelite, casein, celluloid, rubber, etc. The body portion is formed with grooves which are designated by reference numerals from 2 to. 'l inclusive. The grooves extend across the bodyportion, being separated by substantially equal spaces 8, and run parallel to the front edge ll! of the body i.

,As clearly shown in Figure 2, the grooves are of different depths so as to accommodate the coins of different sizes. In the drawing I have shown the grooves 2 to l inclusive adapted to accommodate silver dollars, half dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies respectively. It is obvious that additional grooves toaccommodate gold coins maybe provided if so desired, and it is equally obvious that the order of the grooves or their number may be changed to suit the special conditions and requirements without departing from the teachings and spirit of the present invention.

It will be noted that these grooves are formed with a vertical front wall l2and a circular rear wall I3 merging into a bottom, the radius of each circle being substantially equal to the radius of a particular coin designed to be stored in that groove. The depth of each groove is equal to the corresponding radius of the same groove, with the exception of the larger grooves 2 and 3 where the Widths are somewhat less than the corresponding radii. The grooves are closed at their ends by the side members and I6.

Coins are placed in the proper grooves according to their denominations and arranged in staggered or overlapping relation as is clearly shown in Figure 3. Because the width of the grooves is considerably greater than the thickness of the corresponding coins, the latter, being placed in said grooves, take an inclined position as is illustrated in Figure 2, thereby considerably increasing their visibility. This arrangement of coins in inclined and staggered or overlapping rows is particularly important because it saves considerable space and permits three or four times more coins to be placed on the tray than otherwise would have been possible. It also permits a cashier, or any other person employing my device, to take one or more of the desired coins at a time if needed.

The significance of a staggered or overlapping arrangement of coins may be readily appreciated by the considerations that on most occasions a cashier, or other person making the change, has to pick up two, three, or four coins from the same row at the same time in composing the proper change. He has to perform this operation speedily and accurately, and count the money at the same time. Coins, being arranged in a staggered or overlapping relation, can be readily grasped by the thumb and forefinger of a person, and removed from the groove without the necessity and inconvenience of the person digging into the row for separating the desired coins. The inclined positioning of the coins in the rows exposes the coins almost entirely to the eyes of the cashier, or other person, and thus eliminates the possible mistake in choosing the proper row. The device is inexpensive to manufacture and can be readily used.

It will be noted that the coins when placed in the tray will have their faces substantially parallel with the front wall of the tray. This will permit the coins to be readily seen and since the coins in each row overlap each other, the coins can be quickly counted without the necessity of removing them from the tray. The grooves have depths equal to the radius of the coin received. In the drawing I have shown six grooves, and the groove nearest the front wall ll] receives pennies, the next groove 6 receives nickels. In like manner the groove 5 receives dimes, the groove 4 receives quarters, the groove 3 receives half dollars, and the groove 2 receives dollars. This arrangement makes it very easy for the person to make change. For example if 65 is desired to be, handed to the customer, the person can remove the 50 piece, at the right hand end of the groove 3, and then with the same hand can remove in the same operation a 10 piece from the groove 5, and a 5 piece from the groove 6. f Also, in putting away the coins at the end of the day, the coins can be quickly counted at the same time they are removed from the grooves. For example, in removing the quarters from the groove 4, it is very easy for the operator to grasp four quarters at each time, and thereby know that a dollar is removed at each operation.

The person has complete view of all the coins, and the coins are so arranged that they can be readily separated one from the other during the act of removing them from the grooves. Since the grooves are of less width than where coins are placed face to face, a larger number of grooves can be disposed in a smaller area. The grooves are designed to hold at least one roll of coins.

.Although I have mentioned United States coins, it is obvious that the device can be designed to hold foreign coins.

While I have shown my device in the form which I consider the best, it is susceptible to various changes and modifications, and it is my intention to cover it broadly by the following claims.

I claim: I

1. A coin tray provided with a groove extending across its Width, said groove having a vertical front wall and an arcuate rear Wall terminating at the bottom of the front Wall, said groovebeing designed to hold coins in an inclined position with the faces of the coins directed toward the front of the tray, and th upper edges of the coins extending a considerable distance above the groove, said groove permitting the coins to be arranged in an overlapping relation and offering no obstruction to a lateral movement of the coins along the length of the groove, whereby two or more'ccins may be simultaneously removed from the groove by contacting the desired coins with the thumb and index finger of the hand, and moving them along the length of the groove away from the other coins a slight distance while transferring them from the groove to the same hand.

' 2. A coin tray provided with a plurality of parallel grooves extending. across its width, each groove having a vertical front wall and an armate rear wall forming a cross sectional area equal to one fourth of the area of the coin received or slightly less, the groove nearest the front of the tray being designed'to receive pennies and the other grooves being designed to re eive coins of successively larger denominations, each groove holding coins in an inclined position with the faces of the coins directed toward the front of the tray, said grooves permitting the coins to be arranged in an overlapping relation and freely permitting a movement of the coins along the length of the groove while being removed.

, JAMES. H. BOWMAN. 

